Saturday afternoon the Yellowjacket volleyball team played host to the University of Minnesota Morris and University of Wisconsin-River Falls as the UW-Superior triangle got underway.

Minnesota Morris 3, Yellowjackets 1

The Yellowjackets opened play against UMAC foe Minnesota Morris. The match was tightly contested from the opening serve with both teams holding the lead at different points in three of the four sets.

The first set was a back-and-forth affair as neither team was able to create more than a couple points of separation.  Minnesota Morris took a 14-11 lead before the Yellowjackets called a timeout. The two teams then went on to exchange points until the Yellowjackets broke through by scoring six straight to hold a 22-18 lead.  Minnesota Morris managed one more point before the Yellowjackets finished off the set 25-19 by scoring three straight points.

The second set was just as back-and-forth as the first one, with the Yellowjackets jumping out to an early 4-2 lead, only to see Morris fight its way back to take a 9-5 lead. Minnesota Morris then seemed to take control of the match building an 18-13 lead before Yellowjacket Coach Lynne Deadrick called a timeout. Deadrick must have said something to inspire her team, because after the timeout the Yellowjackets climbed back into a 21-21 tie off of an Ashlee Bayer (Cameron, Wis./Cameron) kill.  The Yellowjackets appeared to be in control after another Bayer kill gave them a 24-23 lead, but Minnesota Morris would have none of it. Down to their last set point at 26-25, Minnesota Morris fired off 3 straight points to take the set and tie up the match 1-1.

The third set started off almost the same as the first two. Neither team was able to generate any separation from the other. After Minnesota Morris jumped out to a 9-6 lead the Yellowjackets made their move, scoring 8 of the next 12 points to make it 17-12 after an Emily VerWay (Inver Grove Heights, Minn./Simley) and Bayer block. It was Minnesota Morris' turn to climb out of the hole they had dug themselves into, as they finished the set on a 13-5 run to go up two sets to one.

The fourth set was all Minnesota Morris from the very beginning as they climbed to a 17-9 lead and did not look back from their defeating the Yellowjackets 25-18 to take the match 3-1. The Yellowjackets couldn't get anything going against a Minnesota Morris attack that had a .300 team-attack-percentage in the fourth set.

Stephanie Bandelin (Esko, Minn./Esko) led the way for the Yellowjackets with 19 kills and 11 digs to go along with 3 blocks. Bayer had 18 kills on 34 attacks, good for a .441 attack percentage. Bayer also had 5 blocks to lead the Yellowjackets in that category. VerWay had 48 set assists and 14 digs while Karlie Leif (Bemidji, Minn./Bemidji) led the way defensively with 19 digs.

Yellowjackets 3, UW-River Falls 0

The second match of the day saw the Yellowjackets face off against a familiar foe in UW-River Falls. The Yellowjackets appeared eager to put their earlier loss behind them as they jumped out to an early 6-1 lead on a Bailey Romans (Duluth, Minn./East) kill. The Falcons fought their way back to take a 10-9 lead. The Yellowjackets regrouped following this push to build an 18-13 lead on a Leah Nightingale (Dayton, Minn./Benilde-St. Margaret's) kill. From that point on it was all Yellowjackets as they cruised to a 25-19 win in the opening set.

The second set saw UW-River Falls come out with urgency as they built a 6-3 lead to open the set. Once again the Yellowjackets rallied back scoring eight straight points to take an 11-6 lead. The Yellowjackets held the lead from that point on as the Falcons were unable to come any closer than a two point deficit.  Stephanie Bandelin (Esko, Minn./Esko) capped off the set with a kill to make it 25-19 giving the Yellowjackets a commanding 2-0 lead.

The third set was the Yellowjackets from start to finish as they never relinquished the lead. The closest that the Falcons were able to come was 14-12, but the Yellowjackets followed that up by scoring four straight points to take an 18-12 lead. The Yellowjackets cruised the rest of the way to take the set 25-19 and the match 3-0.

Bandelin once again led the Yellowjackets offence with 16 kills.  No other Yellowjacket was in double figures. Bandelin also contributed 10 digs and a block.  VerWay once again led the team in set assists with 37.

Defensively Mackenzie Dahlin (Kaukauna, Wis./Kaukauna) had 21 digs. Bayer and Gabrielle Olson (Menomonie, Wis./Menomonie) had two blocks apiece.

The Yellowjackets (12-7, 2-1 UMAC) return to action Sunday when they on Bethany Lutheran College in a non-conference matchup. Game time is set for 1:00 p.m.